Archive for the ‘John Rood’ Category

The United States has offered Russia new proposals on nuclear arms reduction and missile defense, acting undersecretary of state John Rood said here Thursday.

Rood said that he sent a proposed text to Moscow two weeks ago on a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).

The document also includes new suggestions on providing Russia access to planned U.S. missile defense facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic, he said.

The United States is planning to deploy 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic as part of its European missile shield. Related treaty or agreement were signed separately this summer.

Russia strongly opposes the plan, saying it poses a threat to its security.

START, an integral part of the bilateral unclear relationship between Russia and the United States will expire in December 2009.

The United States and Russia have been trying to negotiate over the two thorny issues without success since Russia’s invasion of Georgia in August.

WASHINGTON (AP) – A senior U.S. missile defense negotiator says the United States is nearing a deal with the Czech Republic to install a radar on Czech soil.

John Rood, the U.S. State Department’s undersecretary for arms control and international security, says negotiations could be wrapped up within days “with a burst of activity.”

The Czech Republic is also saying that it is ready to sign a deal. Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek is quoted in a Czech newspaper Monday as saying that the last problems in negotiations have been cleared away. He says an announcement could come at NATO‘s summit in Bucharest, Romania that begins Wednesday.

The Czech parliament would have to approve any deal reached by the government.